Media buyers are reportedly so impressed with CBS's online screening of the first four rounds of the NCAA's March Madness that they are already trying to get a piece of next year's action, according to AdAge (via MediaBuyerPlanner). Unfortunately, CBS had to cap the number of simultaneous streams at 260,000, underestimating the draw of the event and leaving thousands of viewers unable to view the games.
About 1.4 million registered in advance for March Madness on Demand, and on Thursday afternoon, March 16, about 120,000 fans were placed in a virtual line waiting to view the game.
"We knew from the beginning that we would need to put a cap on it, and all the advertisers knew as well," said Scot McLernon, SVP, CBS Digital Media. "We wanted the user to have a terrific experience."
The deals struck by CBS with advertisers weren't based on video impressions alone but were sponsorship deals that guaranteed a certain number of ad impressions across CBS's network of sports sites, including NCAASports.com, CBSSportsline.com and CSTV.com. Online advertisers said they got two to three spots per game, according to the article. Each 30-second spot was accompanied by a skyscraper and a banner ad that remained on screen as the video player streamed content.